You do understand how big of a contradiction you just wrote, right? Don't tell me I have to sit you down on my lap and have the "talk" with you.

Yeah, he's the only one that didn't get the implications of what Shion was asking him, which made it even funnier when he so eagerly agreed to do it.

What I would give to see the aftermath of that scene.

Way, but way of topic

You do need to perform the same act, but one is in a family contexts way and the other one is just pleasure.Shion didn't ask for pleasure she asked for a family, and a husband.

Just re-read your 1st post and you would notice how you made it sound.

QUOTE (redragon88 @ Nov 24 2012, 02:20 PM)

I remember both of those.

The Lost Tower girl got so embarrassed that she slapped Naruto (twice ), which shows that even she understood that it was a very intimate scenario, at least by japanese standards.

The other girl was from the first shippuden movie, her name was Shion. She's by far the worst offender of girls falling for Naruto. She went from mocking him for his potential death to indirectly asking him to have sex with her (continue the line of priestesses ) by the end of the movie.

Whatever the case, saving someone bridal style has romantic implications, at least with japanese anime culture. No way to spin that one.

At first I was joking with your post, since I thought you were only joking.

I got surprised too, i dont get why why made a NS movie but promote NH or SS on adversiting.This is illogical.It's the same thing as selling an ice cream with chocolate flavor and say that it's strawberry.

I would imagine the same reason Kishi puts NH and SS moments in the manga, even though he focuses far more on NaruSaku - pairing suspense.

Plus, there's the fact that Sasuke and Hinata are two of the most popular rookie characters (as well as Shikamaru), so portraying the changes through them is easiest (since they had some of the biggest changes). Honestly, there wasn't anymore NH in the trailers than NaruIno (the part where Hinata grabs Naruto by his collar is literally his only interaction with her the entire movie, except for telling her good luck in the very beginning of the movie as he rushes past). And literally all of Sasuke's parts in the movie were covered in the trailers - there wasn't much to work with regarding him.

QUOTE (NaruSaku4Life3g @ Nov 24 2012, 07:18 PM)

@Paptala: Words of wisdom, ladies and gentlemen.

A few notes I would like to respond. You are right about the bridal save. The part that you nailed it is the context. Here's why. First of all, honestly, I forgot Sasuke saved Sakura in that style, BUT it's not being treated the same context as what NS received and trust me on this, I'm not being biased. Couple of reasons if I may address.

That panel/context was small that it just comes off as saving her because why not, she will hit hard on the ground from that height. Sakura was not even awake at that time. To make the scene literally forgettable is that Sasuke NEVER give himself a credit from Gaara's fight; he gave all of them to Naruto, and rightfully so, so Sakura can understand how much Naruto cares for her. Now comparing to recent save. That save was two half page panel worth of context. Not only it has a dramatic entrance, but media has been showing this scene again, like two games with one alteration in terms of design. It goes to show you that it has more value and meaning than anything else. Even the fans bring this up like its nice or wish it was Hinata, etc. Oh and Sakura was awake to see this. It's like watching a helpless princess being rescued by a strong courageous knight.

Also, girls, at least in Japan to my knowledge, does find this save lovable. It all depends the way it handles. Actually, I remember an anime that the girl blush when the guy carries her in a bridal style, and she was stuttering as like "what's going on?" So yeah, this scene is known to be lovey dovey. You see it in weddings and see it in multiple shows. In fact, we have fans from Japan who saw this movie always see it lovable. So what does that tells you?

The idea of only going by color spread is not good. That color spread is only showing how opposite AU! is. That's where we supposed to be like "What's going on?!" Yeah, I can understand fans here were bothered by it but I was not. Well, just felt a little skeptical but didn't lose hope. When the movie released, yeah, all of our worries vanished, including "Sasuke would have understand me" situation. It goes to show you that Kishi doesn't change his intention for anything. Well, at least roles and relationships.

Oh and thanks for reminding me about other saves. Yeah, Naruto has the special charm.

Thanks and your welcome

I feel like I've read all of the Big 3's manga moments backwards and forwards for debating purposes, so Can't win the war if you don't know your enemy and all.

Sasuke's saving of Sakura wasn't romantic to me, because he's never shown anything romantic to her outside of that, and there was nothing contextually in the scene that suggested it was anything more than Sasuke catching his teammate in the manner most convenient at the time. And yes, it certainly was overshadowed by Naruto's efforts to save Sakura in the end, especially with Sasuke himself telling Sakura it was Naruto who saved her, and not him.

To be honest, Naruto's save of Sakura was great and I loved it. But if there is any romance to it, I think its very subtle and/or minimal - in the manner he saved her, the fact that he lets his hand linger on her shoulder afterwards despite being turned towards Sasuke, and Naruto's clear initial anger with Sasuke over his attempt. I say this because Sakura, while awake for it and certainly stunned and then relieved/thankful, there wasn't anything that spoke of romance from her side (not until her especially fond smile to him later in the woods when he's sleeping at least ). Perhaps one could argue Kishi was going for a MinaKushi parallel there, and simply decided to make it more blatant in the movie (which was decidedly intimate and non-platonic). Either way, it was still a nice moment.

I like to imagine that Kishi devoted such focus on Naruto and Sakura's relationship in the movie because he hasn't been able to address their relationship in the manga for quite some time and misses them /headcanon-fangirlwishfulthinking

I do wonder how much attitudes about the movie are going to change, if at all, once it actually comes out on the internet subbed.

QUOTE (Don-kun @ Nov 24 2012, 09:31 PM)

Paptala, did you mean the image I posted? If that's the case then that Image was re-posted by a NS fan mocking the SS/NH fan, but if you want to see the original Author and see by your self that it was indeed a SS/NH fan who originally created the art, then here is his/her account.

Ah, I see - so that NH/SS fan saw the edit made originally to mock, and was talking about he or she wished it were real? Well, there's nothing particularly wrong with wanting the moment to have been with their preferred couple, so long as that person is not simultaneously trying to argue that the original moment as between Naruto and Sakura was platonic/not cute, etc.

I would imagine the same reason Kishi puts NH and SS moments in the manga, even though he focuses far more on NaruSaku - pairing suspense.

Plus, there's the fact that Sasuke and Hinata are two of the most popular rookie characters (as well as Shikamaru), so portraying the changes through them is easiest (since they had some of the biggest changes). Honestly, there wasn't anymore NH in the trailers than NaruIno (the part where Hinata grabs Naruto by his collar is literally his only interaction with her the entire movie, except for telling her good luck in the very beginning of the movie as he rushes past). And literally all of Sasuke's parts in the movie were covered in the trailers - there wasn't much to work with regarding him.

Thanks and your welcome

I feel like I've read all of the Big 3's manga moments backwards and forwards for debating purposes, so Can't win the war if you don't know your enemy and all.

Sasuke's saving of Sakura wasn't romantic to me, because he's never shown anything romantic to her outside of that, and there was nothing contextually in the scene that suggested it was anything more than Sasuke catching his teammate in the manner most convenient at the time. And yes, it certainly was overshadowed by Naruto's efforts to save Sakura in the end, especially with Sasuke himself telling Sakura it was Naruto who saved her, and not him.

To be honest, Naruto's save of Sakura was great and I loved it. But if there is any romance to it, I think its very subtle and/or minimal - in the manner he saved her, the fact that he lets his hand linger on her shoulder afterwards despite being turned towards Sasuke, and Naruto's clear initial anger with Sasuke over his attempt. I say this because Sakura, while awake for it and certainly stunned and then relieved/thankful, there wasn't anything that spoke of romance from her side (not until her especially fond smile to him later in the woods when he's sleeping at least ). Perhaps one could argue Kishi was going for a MinaKushi parallel there, and simply decided to make it more blatant in the movie (which was decidedly intimate and non-platonic). Either way, it was still a nice moment.

I like to imagine that Kishi devoted such focus on Naruto and Sakura's relationship in the movie because he hasn't been able to address their relationship in the manga for quite some time and misses them /headcanon-fangirlwishfulthinking

I do wonder how much attitudes about the movie are going to change, if at all, once it actually comes out on the internet subbed.

Ah, I see - so that NH/SS fan saw the edit made originally to mock, and was talking about he or she wished it were real? Well, there's nothing particularly wrong with wanting the moment to have been with their preferred couple, so long as that person is not simultaneously trying to argue that the original moment as between Naruto and Sakura was platonic/not cute, etc.

None Because at this point NH and SS are unavoidable Naruto does not love Sakura anymore and Sasuke loves Sakura.

That alone shows you that these people already fabricated their view point an nothing with change that.

Today I even got a neg from a NH fan asking me why I'm so blind and cannot see that all the development in the Manga are leading to NH pairing, she even said that I'm delusional just like all the other NS fans.

So with this mentality that almost every NH/SS fans seems to have adopted, do you really believe the movie will have any effect on them?

EditNo Paptala, he/she was the one who created the art, the person say that the art was originally about NS, but since he does not like the pairing and he thinks it will look better with NH and SS he decided to make it. Read the comments and you will see how many SS/NH fans called him out and he still defended his art, the user was even threatened to be reported for changing and original NS art to NH and SS, but his/her reply was that he doesn't think is fair for NS to have something nice but not his/her OTP.

Double edit, it seems that he remove all the comments, he/she was was being bombarded by a lot of NS fans and some few NH fns calling him/her stupid.

Well sure, the save wasn't completely romance but it was definitely a strong point or at least that's how a lot of people made out to be. That double page was so great and the detail was really good on the scene. Sakura looked like she lost all hopes, that is until Naruto saves her and Sakura was the only one saying his name out loud. The save is still something that needs to be addressed by the mangaka. In this case, Kishi made it big that it's nice to many. Stuff like that makes the fans squeal. Plus, if you want to taunt, not that you should, you can always brag that Naruto did a bridal save to Sakura only. Hinata didn't get one and pretty sure she won't. She didn't even give him a hug. So yeah, not that much progress.

Of course, Sasuke doesn't have romantic feeling for Sakura. If anything, he could have at least be jealous of Naruto, especially at that moment where he told her about Naruto saving Sakura. Again, there's nothing. I don't know if this way anything, but if Sasuke admitted that Naruto is his best friend, then shouldn't that kind of vaguely tells us the level of friendship with Sakura. I don't know if you want to answer, but do so. I won't change topic.

I would like to see the new feelings from people after seeing the movie. I know I will be happy for more than one things, especially Sakura. There will be haters still, but it would be nice for someone to change their view on character(s). Who knows, but I am happy.

Well sure, the save wasn't completely romance but it was definitely a strong point or at least that's how a lot of people made out to be. That double page was so great and the detail was really good on the scene. Sakura looked like she lost all hopes, that is until Naruto saves her and Sakura was the only one saying his name out loud. The save is still something that needs to be addressed by the mangaka. In this case, Kishi made it big that it's nice to many. Stuff like that makes the fans squeal. Plus, if you want to taunt, not that you should, you can always brag that Naruto did a bridal save to Sakura only. Hinata didn't get one and pretty sure she won't. She didn't even give him a hug. So yeah, not that much progress.

Of course, Sasuke doesn't have romantic feeling for Sakura. If anything, he could have at least be jealous of Naruto, especially at that moment where he told her about Naruto saving Sakura. Again, there's nothing. I don't know if this way anything, but if Sasuke admitted that Naruto is his best friend, then shouldn't that kind of vaguely tells us the level of friendship with Sakura. I don't know if you want to answer, but do so. I won't change topic.

I would like to see the new feelings from people after seeing the movie. I know I will be happy for more than one things, especially Sakura. There will be haters still, but it would be nice for someone to change their view on character(s). Who knows, but I am happy.

Why are you acting as if you weren't on the NH discussion thread?

You know how the feel about the movie and how they view the end of the Manga something the majority of them seems to have adopted.

Come on you read their post to a point were it annoyed you and you made a comment.

You do need to perform the same act, but one is in a family contexts way and the other one is just pleasure.Shion didn't ask for pleasure she asked for a family, and a husband.

Just re-read your 1st post and you would notice how you made it sound.

Dude, many animes have that certain girl that tries to seduce the hero by proposing to let her bear his children. We're supposed to take it as an indirect proposal for sex. That's how animes aimed at young teens work, it's all about being indirect and reading context, otherwise the TV station would give it an R rating instead of the Everyone rating.

Are you really saying that all those other anime girls who use that same line are really only thinking about making a happy family? Shion might've not been rubbing herself against Naruto and acting all seductive, but she was being no different than those other girls.

The "let me bear your children" line always has sexual undertones to it. That's why everyone had those shocked faces when Shion asked Naruto to help her continue her lineage. Notice that she didn't even ask him to marry her or something of the sort, she went straight to the lineage part. And she was also doing it in a sort of teasing way.

That, along with the comedic atmosphere, lets us know that Shion was just being indirect with what she truly asked.

Dude, many animes have that certain girl that tries to seduce the hero by proposing to let her bear his children. We're supposed to take it as an indirect proposal for sex. That's how animes aimed at young teens work, it's all about being indirect and reading context, otherwise the TV station would give it an R rating instead of the Everyone rating.

Are you really saying that all those other anime girls who use that same line are really only thinking about making a happy family? Shion might've not been rubbing herself against Naruto and acting all seductive, but she was being no different than those other girls.

The "let me bear your children" line always has sexual undertones to it. That's why everyone had those shocked faces when Shion asked Naruto to help her continue her lineage. Notice that she didn't even ask him to marry her or something of the sort, she went straight to the lineage part. And she was also doing it in a sort of teasing way.

That, along with the comedic atmosphere, lets us know that Shion was just being indirect with what she truly asked.

None Because at this point NH and SS are unavoidable Naruto does not love Sakura anymore and Sasuke loves Sakura.

That alone shows you that these people already fabricated their view point an nothing with change that.

Today I even got a neg from a NH fan asking me why I'm so blind and cannot see that all the development in the Manga are leading to NH pairing, she even said that I'm delusional just like all the other NS fans.

So with this mentality that almost every NH/SS fans seems to have adopted, do you really believe the movie will have any effect on them?

True, its not likely to change any of those fans' minds, but I was referring to the less zealous NH/SS fans, or some of the neutral fans. But then, its just fan serivce anyway.

And yes, that is exactly why I haven't gotten involved in that thread, or the other pairing threads currently ongoing in the HoU. At this point, everyone is just repeating stuff over and over. The other side believes what they believe, they see the manga in a completely different way than we do, and even if we back up every single statement we make with manga panels, they still won't agree with us because they interpret those panels differently than we do.

So to me, there isn't any point in even trying to argue. It's just going to go nowhere, and I know I'm just going to end up frustrated.

Sorry about the neg though

QUOTE

EditNo Paptala, he/she was the one who created the art, the person say that the art was originally about NS, but since he does not like the pairing and he thinks it will look better with NH and SS he decided to make it. Read the comments and you will see how many SS/NH fans called him out and he still defended his art, the user was even threatened to be reported for changing and original NS art to NH and SS, but his/her reply was that he doesn't think is fair for NS to have something nice but not his/her OTP.

Double edit, it seems that he remove all the comments, he/she was was being bombarded by a lot of NS fans and some few NH fns calling him/her stupid.

Yeah, I wasn't sure b/c I didn't see any of the comments given that they had all been disabled. I'll take your word for it then.

QUOTE (NaruSaku4Life3g @ Nov 24 2012, 11:39 PM)

Well sure, the save wasn't completely romance but it was definitely a strong point or at least that's how a lot of people made out to be. That double page was so great and the detail was really good on the scene. Sakura looked like she lost all hopes, that is until Naruto saves her and Sakura was the only one saying his name out loud. The save is still something that needs to be addressed by the mangaka. In this case, Kishi made it big that it's nice to many. Stuff like that makes the fans squeal. Plus, if you want to taunt, not that you should, you can always brag that Naruto did a bridal save to Sakura only. Hinata didn't get one and pretty sure she won't. She didn't even give him a hug. So yeah, not that much progress.

True, it was certainly emphasized quite a bit, given its 2 page spread and Sakura's shocked expression and saying his name. NS moments all together just top the NH moments, imo. The macrostory favors NaruSaku by far.

QUOTE

Of course, Sasuke doesn't have romantic feeling for Sakura. If anything, he could have at least be jealous of Naruto, especially at that moment where he told her about Naruto saving Sakura. Again, there's nothing. I don't know if this way anything, but if Sasuke admitted that Naruto is his best friend, then shouldn't that kind of vaguely tells us the level of friendship with Sakura. I don't know if you want to answer, but do so. I won't change topic.

Yeah, there's certainly nothing to suggest that Sasuke felt anything more than friendship for Sakura. He wasn't in denial or shy about what he felt - he straight up told Naruto that he considered him his best friend, and told him during the Gaara fight that he considered Naruto and Sakura his precious people. He had Sakura's attention all to himself after his supposed "jealously" moment, and he smacked the apples out of her hand. When Sakura was confessing to Sasuke, he was thinking of Team 7 (as was she). After Sasuke left, he never once thought of her individually, and she never once was able to reach him on an emotional level unlike Naruto was.

Further, Orochimaru stated in part one that it was Naruto that was changing Sasuke's heart, not Sakura.

There's just nothing really there, that I can recall at least, to suggest that Sasuke ever thought of Sakura as more than a teammate and a friend. I think Kishi's portrayal of Sasuke in RtN emphasizes that he simply does not have any more genuine romantic feelings for Sakura than he does for his other fangirls.

QUOTE

I would like to see the new feelings from people after seeing the movie. I know I will be happy for more than one things, especially Sakura. There will be haters still, but it would be nice for someone to change their view on character(s). Who knows, but I am happy.

It would certainly be nice to see some positive change in attitude from the fans once the movie actually airs, for sure. :-)

There's just nothing really there, that I can recall at least, to suggest that Sasuke ever thought of Sakura as more than a teammate and a friend. I think Kishi's portrayal of Sasuke in RtN emphasizes that he simply does not have any more genuine romantic feelings for Sakura than he does for his other fangirls.

It would certainly be nice to see some positive change in attitude from the fans once the movie actually airs, for sure. :-)

I dont know if you write this wrong but btw.sasuke never had any romantic feelings for sakura so i think you should edit to "that he simply does not had any genuine romantic feelings for Sakura".RTN movie emphasizes that sasuke does not love anyone and never loved on a romantice level because his opposite "Love" all the girls, while the original sasuke loves no one.

I dont know if you write this wrong but btw.sasuke never had any romantic feelings for sakura so i think you should edit to "that he simply does not had any genuine romantic feelings for Sakura".RTN movie emphasizes that sasuke does not love anyone and never loved on a romantic level because his opposite "Love" all the girls, while the original sasuke loves no one.

I really don't know what was in Kishi's mind when he made that movie, but if I try to add logic to his twist it seems that he make the characters the complete opposite of what their are in the Manga.

If he really, really planned to make it seems that way, I can perfectly see regular Hinata personality being = to the movie Hinata.

Example: She never thought about Naruto's feeling, she had a silent speech when Sakura hugged Naruto (does not sit well with her), again she doesn't think about Naruto's feelings but she already guarantee that they will have a future.

AU Hinata, wants to make sure Naruto will be hers with a more aggressive approach.

Sasuke, he doesn't have any romantic feelings for any girl, AU love all the girls.

AU Sakura was already popular so she didn't need to compete with her best friend to see who would win the cute guy affection.

Naruto and Sakura have the BIGGEST focus has potential lovers, Movie Naruto and Sakura had the BIGGEST focus has potential lovers.

AU Sakura was already popular so she didn't need to compete with her best friend to see who would win the cute guy affection.

Naruto and Sakura have the BIGGEST focus has potential lovers, Movie Naruto and Sakura had the BIGGEST focus has potential lovers.

I think AU!Sakura did not loved sasuke because on the fillersode the first thing comes to her mind about sasuke is "playboy", i dont see her loving anyone she might is fond of naruto but i do not think on a romantic way since it's naruto who is "going to prove yourself to her" something like that, AU!Naruto can love sakura but i do think "proving yourself to her" is his main objective.And sakura would be hokage on the AU!Konoha just saying

@Don-Kun: On the topic about me against NH. Well, I just want to take a shot at it since I have a few left in me. That said yes, I was frustrated because out of all pairings, NH shouldn't bring up the movie in a discussion. It's odd because one of us would actually use the movie in a discussion, right or wrong, but since they brought it up, of course you're asking for remarks. How in the world they blame us if they brought it. So yeah, how you think I felt. I don't go to discussion in NF, but that one I needed to take out on. Ok, I'm done ranting. Make no mistake, I'm not taking it on you.

I do like how you connected with movie to real personalities. It's funny though. I don't think others have said it, but do you remember the defense on playboy Sasuke as in "Only love one girl?" I sure do. Hinata's feelings for Naruto means only personality change. Now my main point is that won't it be sad if they said "Feelings change too." Let's face it, it's clear as the sky. Sakura's part is meant to be all wrong like no parents and such. Naruto's part is having family. Plain and simple. Like many have said, Kishi don't need Naruto/Sakura bond in the movie, but he has. What's worse for anti is that according to people who saw it, Sakura is often with Naruto and his family to demonstrate how much she learns from Naruto and emotional support for Naruto. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but why even add the last scene for Naruto/Sakura. Obviously, Kishi is fond of this pairing. This has the best shot for romance.

@Paptala: I agreed.

Starting off with NS value over NH. The thing about NS is that they have interaction that doesn't require a resolution or plot point to one of them. It's just a usual close friend talk. They always start off in each arc. They don't need a character development to talk to each other. They just do. In NH, when they talk, it's a character development to Hinata. There's no normal conversation between them. They only talk for development sake. Plus, NS has many interaction and applies with actions. So that's my take on it.

Now on to Naruto and Sasuke. The thing is that Sasuke wants a brother and perhaps a family, though that part is not yet clear. In fact, in the novel based on Sasuke, it only makes you wonder that all he wants in the world is his brother and there are indications that he treated the same to Itachi and Naruto. He thought of team 7 though in a very bad light. Point is that Sasuke wants a brother and maybe a family. As for Naruto, it's not the same as Sasuke because Naruto always thought of his precious people individually and each of them has a place in his heart. Sasuke sees them as a whole and Naruto. Naruto has different bonds with his precious people and fits well to the theme. I don't need to repeat myself but I'm pretty sure you know what type of bond each of his precious people represent.

I think AU!Sakura did not loved sasuke because on the fillersode the first thing comes to her mind about sasuke is "playboy", i dont see her loving anyone she might is fond of naruto but i do not think on a romantic way since it's naruto who is "going to prove yourself to her" something like that, AU!Naruto can love sakura but i do think "proving yourself to her" is his main objective.And sakura would be hokage on the AU!Konoha just saying

I was kind of saying that her feelings for the pretty boy has been shown many times to be driven by her rivalry with Ino, in the AU she didn't need to try to emerge from Ino's shadow or try to prove that she was better than her in any way, cool Sasuke had the attention of many girls and Playboy Sasuke also had the attention of many girls.

I was kind of saying that her feelings for the pretty boy has been shown many times to be driven by her rivalry with Ino, in the AU she didn't need to try to emerge from Ino's shadow or try to prove that she was better than her in any way, cool Sasuke had the attention of many girls and Playboy Sasuke also had the attention of many girls.

but naruto seems to have a (one sided)heathy rivalry towards her, which would lead to love.

I dont know if you write this wrong but btw.sasuke never had any romantic feelings for sakura so i think you should edit to "that he simply does not had any genuine romantic feelings for Sakura".RTN movie emphasizes that sasuke does not love anyone and never loved on a romantice level because his opposite "Love" all the girls, while the original sasuke loves no one.

Well, he doesn't have any romantic feelings for his fangirls either - which is why I wrote it the way that I did. Kishi had Sasuke flirting with all of his fangirls (whom he lumped Sakura in with) the same exact way, indicating he doesn't care about them romantically. Which was an interesting way for Kishi to have Sasuke be completely opposite and show "interest" in Sakura without it being genuine at all.

I'm trying to say the same thing you are (that Sasuke doesn't have an ounce of romantic feelings for any of them), but I'm just having difficulty putting it into words.

QUOTE (Don-kun @ Nov 25 2012, 08:56 AM)

I really don't know what was in Kishi's mind when he made that movie, but if I try to add logic to his twist it seems that he make the characters the complete opposite of what their are in the Manga.

If he really, really planned to make it seems that way, I can perfectly see regular Hinata personality being = to the movie Hinata.

Example: She never thought about Naruto's feeling, she had a silent speech when Sakura hugged Naruto (does not sit well with her), again she doesn't think about Naruto's feelings but she already guarantee that they will have a future.

AU Hinata, wants to make sure Naruto will be hers with a more aggressive approach.

Sasuke, he doesn't have any romantic feelings for any girl, AU love all the girls.

AU Sakura was already popular so she didn't need to compete with her best friend to see who would win the cute guy affection.

Naruto and Sakura have the BIGGEST focus has potential lovers, Movie Naruto and Sakura had the BIGGEST focus has potential lovers.

Agreed - wasn't it confirmed that the AU! characters' feelings were the same as the real characters' feelings, but just expressed differently? If that's the case then, Sasuke really is not at all interested in Sakura romantically, Hinata is jealous of Sakura and her relationship with Naruto (which could have been hinted at, as you suggested, in her reaction to their hug), and Menma seems to still like Sakura.

It's all the more interesting then that AU! Sakura doesn't seem to hold any romantic feelings for AU! Sasuke (recall she didn't react to his name at all, other than to call him a playboy), and she conveniently couldn't recall Menma, since he's called Naruto in the real world.

Of course, it's possible that I'm overthinking this, but it fits nicely regardless.

QUOTE (NaruSaku4Life3g @ Nov 25 2012, 09:37 AM)

Starting off with NS value over NH. The thing about NS is that they have interaction that doesn't require a resolution or plot point to one of them. It's just a usual close friend talk. They always start off in each arc. They don't need a character development to talk to each other. They just do. In NH, when they talk, it's a character development to Hinata. There's no normal conversation between them. They only talk for development sake. Plus, NS has many interaction and applies with actions. So that's my take on it.

Well, there's also some development for Naruto, but that was just during the proud failure speech, and Hinata being stabbed in front of him triggering his transformation into 6 tails, which was part of the reason he decided to take the key for his seal and train to control Kurama. But regardless, Hinata's feelings served a clear purpose beyond indicating that she's going to get with Naruto - character development for her, a plot device (Pein fight mostly), some character development for Naruto, and to add suspense to the romance subplot.

Naruto's feelings for Sakura likewise serve those points as well, but the instances of Sakura showing non-platonic feelings for Naruto are not necessary for anything aside from building towards a romantic relationship between them. Sakura's blushing and flirting in 245, Sai's and Yamato's comments about Sakura's feelings for Naruto, Sakura's offer to feed him ramen and Naruto's blushing response, and the crowd blushing in response to Sakura hugging Naruto - none of these things are necessary to advance the plot or develop either character.

QUOTE

Now on to Naruto and Sasuke. The thing is that Sasuke wants a brother and perhaps a family, though that part is not yet clear. In fact, in the novel based on Sasuke, it only makes you wonder that all he wants in the world is his brother and there are indications that he treated the same to Itachi and Naruto. He thought of team 7 though in a very bad light. Point is that Sasuke wants a brother and maybe a family. As for Naruto, it's not the same as Sasuke because Naruto always thought of his precious people individually and each of them has a place in his heart. Sasuke sees them as a whole and Naruto. Naruto has different bonds with his precious people and fits well to the theme. I don't need to repeat myself but I'm pretty sure you know what type of bond each of his precious people represent.

My point about NH was really that their interaction is for development sake, whether it's for Naruto or Hinata. I'm not trying to be biased but I don't recall any normal conversation in a daily life. If I see one with her and Naruto talking in the beginning of a arc, then it's ok. But the problem is that there's none. NS has daily life conversation like when Sakura and Sai bumps to Naruto and talk, or how they are just eating ramen after Immortal arc. It's just natural. That's what I'm saying.

I agree with you about Sakura. I always said this but think about it. Technically, Sakura's friendship level hits the peak by the end of part 1, same level as K11. So why continuing developing her relationship with Naruto further in part 2? It hit the peak already, so the only level left is love. Kishi could just leave her out after Rescue Gaara arc if he saw her as secondary, but there's more to this than people thought. Hug wasn't necessary in terms of story, neither as feeding and Sai and Yamato's comment. So why? That's a question that will be answered towards the end.

Sorry, but i was the one who brought it up in the NF. When a NH/SS shipper named "ch1p" said that kishi trolled the NS fandom in the manga, i replied and said that kishi trolled the NH/SS fandom in RtN. Sorry

I feel so much better that i have gotten that out of the way lol. There's this one reviewer on yt who was brave enough to actually defend SS in RnT. Claiming that Sasuke was acting different when he was with Sakura. But when it came to the other girls he was all "playboy". I was laughing so hard at the lengths this SS shipper went to in order to prove to us that Sasuke has some feelings deep within him LMAO. She went on that wild interpretation for about 7 mins.